Monday, 6 August 2018

Tuesday, August 7, 2018 - If you were in Peter’s place and were about to drown, what would you say to the Lord?

The text of today appears immediately after the miracle of the
feeding of the five thousand (14:13-21). For the first time in Matthew, the
disciples are sent forth without Jesus. This is also the first time in the
Gospel of Matthew that Jesus is depicted as praying.

Many see the boat in which
the disciples are as representing the church and here, it is battered by
the waves. Despite the seeming impossibility of Jesus being able to reach them,
he comes to them in the darkest part of the night i.e. between 3.00 and 6.00
a.m.

By walking on the water, Matthew is not portraying Jesus as defying the
law of gravity, but subduing the chaos of the waters. Jesus does what only God
can do (Job 9:8; 38:16; Ps 77:19 etc), and announces himself as “I am” which is
reminiscent of the name God used to identify himself in Exodus 3:15.

The second
part of this pericope in which Peter asks Jesus to allow him to come to him is
exclusive to Matthew. Peter addresses Jesus as believers do in Matthew by
using the title “Lord”. The point that Matthew seems to be making is not only
that Peter took his eyes off Jesus and so began to sink, but also that by
leaving the boat, he indicated that he wanted proof of the presence of
Jesus. Peter cries out with a prayer, “Lord, save me”, and Jesus reaches
out and saves him. The gentle rebuke identifies Peter as a person of “little
faith” which in Matthew is a mixture of courage on the one hand and anxiety on
the other. It is a faith mixed with doubts.

The conclusion to this episode
in Matthew is that the disciples worship Jesus as Son of God. Jesus is then
portrayed as the one who can make everyone whole.

The boats of our lives are often swamped by waves. These can be
marital discord, addictions, problems with children and parents, disagreements
with neighbours and the like. When this happens, the Lord keeps coming to us,
walking on the water, subduing the chaos and confusion of our lives and telling
us that he continues to be Emmanu’el. If we continue to stay in the boat, he
will lead us safely to the shore. If we decide to leave the boat and go to him,
then we need to keep our fixed on him and not let the waves get us down.

About Me

There are four maxims I try to live by. The first is to ALWAYS have CHOICES about everything. The more choices I have, the less the chances of my being disappointed.
The Second is that I try to see my REWARD in the doing of the action itself. I will expect nothing from anyone in return and even expect the very ones I have helped to be ungrateful. It does not matter. I do not mind.
The third is that every stage in my life I try to KNOW where my authority ends. This saves a lot of bother. I am not the General Manager of the Universe. I do what I have to do and leave the rest to God.
The fourth is a readiness to face the consequences of my action. When I make a gaffe I am willing to rectify it and apologize. However, if it cannot be rectified I am ready to face the penalty.